NEWS
Totus Alpha Fund
16 Apr 2014 - Australian Fund Monitors
Totus Alpha Fund recorded a solid return of 1.4% during March, which brought the annual return to a strong 55.26% with a Sharpe ratio of 2.64.
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16 Apr 2014 - Totus Alpha Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund is a long/short investment fund principally investing in listed entities, commodities, futures and options in Australia and internationally. The Fund is not a market neutral fund and accordingly may switch between net long positions and net short positions. The Fund may use short sales and derivatives as determined by Totus Capital. Gearing may be used to enhance returns and the Fund may be geared in excess of 100% of the Fund's Net Asset Value. There is a limit to net exposure of 150%. |
| Manager Comments | At month-end net exposure was 105%, gross exposure 198% and the Fund held 89 positions with an average market cap of $18.02 billion. The Fund's Performance summary notes that 'performance has been delivered with consistently low (usually negative) beta (-0.02) and correlation (-0.015) to equity markets.' |
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Insync Global Titans Fund
15 Apr 2014 - Australian Fund Monitors
Insync Global Titans Fund returned -3.0% (Fund Benchmark MSCI ACWI -3.1%) during March, bringing annual performance to 19.05%.
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15 Apr 2014 - Insync Global Titans Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Manager Comments | The monthly commentary notes 'March was a difficult month for equity markets with the sell-off triggered by the mid-month Federal Reserve meeting in the US, which was marginally more hawkish than expected and comments from Chairman Yellen, who appeared to suggest that there would only be a six month pause between the end of tapering and the first rate rise. This resulted in a sell-off in the equity markets with the higher beta stocks, including the biotech, cloud computing, social media, 3-D printing and internet sector, hit the hardest wiping out many months of gains in a matter of weeks.' |
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AFM Prism Active Equity Fund
14 Apr 2014 - Australian Fund Monitors
AFM Prism Active Equity Fund returned 2.00% for February and 7.08% over the preceding 12 months. Volatility was very low at 3.07% (11.49% ASX 200 Acc).
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14 Apr 2014 - AFM Prism Active Equity Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund invests in a portfolio of underlying managed funds which focus on investing in ASX listed companies. The Fund will not directly invest in equity markets or derivatives, but the underlying funds may use short selling or invest in derivatives to improve performance or reduce risk. The underlying managers and funds are selected only from funds managed in Australia. This reduces the risk of currency fluctuations, facilitates due diligence and ensures that each underlying fund manager is licensed by the Australian Securities Investments Commission (ASIC). A combination of quantitative performance analysis and qualitative operational due diligence is used to create a portfolio generally consisting of five to ten 'best of breed' funds. AFM's research has shown that selecting a relatively small group of funds results in better risk adjusted performance than that of a larger, more diversified group. Significant research from Australia and overseas shows that the performance of boutique funds, (particularly those where the principals remain actively involved in the day to day investment decisions) and smaller managers can provide more attractive returns than larger or more established managers. As a result the Fund may invest in funds managed by boutique fund managers where the principals invest alongside outside investors, creating an attractive alignment of interests. In addition the Fund may also invest in funds managed by early stage managers with less than three years history, but only where the principals concerned have a demonstrated track record of prior performance in a similar role, and where AFM has been able to conduct thorough due diligence on the management company and its operations. The underlying funds are monitored each month by AFM Prism Asset Management and AFM to ensure each fund's strategy and risk limits remain appropriate for current market conditions. The returns of each underlying fund are also analysed to ensure the original basis for inclusion in the portfolio remains relevant, and to allow new or additional funds to be added to enhance overall performance. |
| Manager Comments | The Prism Active Equity Fund returned 2.00% in February, compared to the S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation Index which rose 4.97% and was the Fund's best single month performance. As noted the Fund under-performed in a very strong equity market after out-performing (-0.96%) the weak market (-3.03%) in January. This outcome a result of the Fund's conservative philosophy which emphasizes capital protection. With the equity market now trading at fair to expensive valuations and some earnings growth expected in FY 2014 and 2015, equities are likely to be volatile with capital appreciation likely to be sector specific. In this environment funds with strong stock picking skills and sound risk management are likely to record out-performance. |
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Allard Investment Fund
11 Apr 2014 - Australian Fund Monitors
Allard Investment Fund had a sound month returning 0.1% during March (Index -1.9%) and 9.69% for the previous 12 months.
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11 Apr 2014 - Allard Investment Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Manager Comments | At month-end the Fund was 77.2% invested and 22.8% cash and fixed income. The top three geographic exposures were HK/China 37.2%, Singapore 14.9% and India 10.7% while the largest three industry exposures were Financial Services at 17.6%, Conglomerates 13.7% and Telco's at 9.4%, each close to the previous month's exposure. |
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Morphic Global Opportunities Fund
10 Apr 2014 - Australian Fund Monitors
Morphic Global Opportunities Fund returned -2.63% for March, slightly above the benchmark ACWI Index (in $A), with annual returns at 27.63%.
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10 Apr 2014 - Morphic Global Opportunities Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Manager Comments | Manager commentary notes the following regarding fund performance 'The Fund's main gains came from some of its longest held positions. The overweight in US financials generally benefited from better macroeconomic data over the month, and more upbeat commentary from new Reserve Bank Chairman Janet Yellen. Its two largest positions, Wells Fargo and US Bancorp did even better after strong scores in the US Federal Reserve's annual "Stress test" review paved the way for them to raise dividends and increase buy-backs. Reversing last month's under-performance, the long held Japanese drugstores basket, also rose sharply on good sales data, and reduced fears about the impact of higher Japanese sales tax rates.' |
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Optimal Australia Absolute Trust
9 Apr 2014 - Australian Fund Monitors
Optimal Australia Absolute Trust returned 0.04% in March with an annual return of 3.30% and standard deviation of 1.89%.
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9 Apr 2014 - Optimal Australia Absolute Trust
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund's bias is likely to be net long under normal market conditions, with the core strategy being to construct a portfolio of listed equity securities priced at levels that do not adequately reflect their underlying value. The Fund will seek to boost returns and limit potential market downside by selective short selling of individual stocks which are priced at levels that are viewed as materially above their underlying value. The Fund will also use certain trading strategies both within its core portfolio (through rebalancing stock weights and overall market exposure in response to price movements) and in certain other situations (typically of a shorter-duration and/or opportunistic nature) with the objective of further increasing returns. |
| Manager Comments | The Manager Monthly report comments 'The S&P/ASX200 index finished the March quarter up 0.8% the Australian market's worst start to the calendar year since 2010. March's performance is largely at odds with some of the acclaim greeting the February reporting season(characterized as the 'best in five years'), suggesting that investors are not entirely convinced. Earnings have been re-rated about as far as they can be as a result of interest rate suppression and liquidity creation. Early-stage normalisation of the term end of the yield curve is occurring. For equity prices to advance further, growth has to step up, and the signs on that remain mixed at best.' |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
BlackRock Multi Opportunity Fund
8 Apr 2014 - Australian Fund Monitors
BlackRock Multi Opportunity Fund returned -0.29% in February and 6.55% for the previous twelve months with a volatility of 2.50% (11.49 % ASX 200 Acc Index).
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8 Apr 2014 - BlackRock Multi Opportunity Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | - Australian and International Equity Long/Short - Global Fixed Income Long/Short - Global Macro - Commodity Alpha - Alpha Transport The Fund's goal is to provide investors with a source of consistent, risk-controlled, absolute returns that are over time, expected to have low correlations with the returns of major asset classes. The Fund aims to achieve a return of 8% p.a. before fees, above the RBA Cash Rate Target over rolling 3 year periods. In order to achieve its expected return objective, the Fund will target a total expected risk of between 4-6% p.a. over the same rolling 3 year period. |
| Manager Comments | The Fund Update comments 'Strong positive contributions from Fixed Income Global Alpha, European Equity Long/Short and Australian Equity Long/Short were offset by detractions from the Global Macro, Global Equity Long/Short and International Alpha Transport strategies. The Australian Equity Long/Short strategy added value in February benefitting from stock selection in the gold sector and a takeover bid in the oil stock Aurora Oil & Gas Ltd (AUT). The underweight exposure in mining services was again a positive contributor. Stock selection in infrastructure, consumer cyclicals and insurance detracted.' |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund
8 Apr 2014 - Australian Fund Monitors
Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund recorded a reasonable return in a flat market delivering 0.87% with the annual return 9.67%.
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8 Apr 2014 - Bennelong Kardinia Absolute Return Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The Fund consists of a concentrated long/short portfolio typically comprising 20 to 50 ASX300 listed stocks, generally with a long bias aligned to the overall market direction. There is a slight bias to large cap stocks in the long side of the portfolio, although in a rising market the portfolio will tend to hold smaller caps, including resource stocks, more frequently. On the short side, the portfolio is particularly concentrated, with stock selection limited by both liquidity and the difficulty of borrowing stock in smaller cap companies. Short positions are only taken when there is a high conviction view on the specific stock. The Fund uses derivatives in a limited way, mainly selling short dated covered call options to generate additional income. These typically have less than 30 days to expiry, and are usually 5% to 10% out of the money. ASX SPI futures and index put options can be used to hedge the portfolio's overall net position. |
| Manager Comments | The Manager's update notes that Long positions in Donaco and the major banks, and a short position in Metcash were the largest positive contributors to performance, whilst long positions in Crown, CSL and Twenty-First Century Fox were the largest detractors. |
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Fund Review: Morphic Global Opportunities Fund
7 Apr 2014 - Australian Fund Monitors
AFM's updated Fund Review for the Morphic Global Opportunities Fund for February 2014 has been released. The fund returned -0.71% during the month for an annual return to 32.37%.
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7 Apr 2014 - Fund Review: Morphic Global Opportunities Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
MORPHIC GLOBAL OPPORTUNITIES FUND
AFM has updated the Fund Review on the Morphic Global Opportunities Fund.
Key points include:
- The Fund is a global equity long/short manager with a long bias and a macro-economic overlay. The mandate allows the Fund to short sell, use derivatives and invest in assets such as commodities & currencies.
- Portfolio construction is stock selection agnostic with a bias to value based and momentum strategies. Risk management is a primary consideration in portfolio construction and the strong emphasis on risk is evidenced by the Fund's since inception annualised standard deviation of 9.05% (10.29% ASX 200 Accum Index), maximum drawdown of 1.66% (6.72% Index) and downside deviation of 2.26 (5.50 Index).
- Morphic's philosophy is that only funds with flexible investment and hedging strategies will be able to deliver acceptable, steady, real, absolute returns over the investment cycle.
- The Fund is an early stage, boutique, Sydney-based fund established in 2012 with experienced CIO's, and an investment team of 6 including a risk manager.
- The Board has a majority of independent members with significant risk and investment experience.
For further details on the Fund, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Sean Webster
Research Manager
Monash Absolute Investment Fund
4 Apr 2014 - Australian Fund Monitors
Monash Absolute Investment Fund returned a solid 4.6% during March (Index 0.20%) and 27.72% (Index 12.0%) over the last twelve months.
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4 Apr 2014 - Monash Absolute Investment Fund
By: Australian Fund Monitors
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| Fund Overview | The fund seeks to identify opportunities in the share market to make positive returns (long and short) irrespective of market conditions. It is style agnostic, as compelling investment opportunities exist across all investment styles from time to time. The Fund places a high priority on capital preservation, and has an absolute return focus in accepting market risk. |
| Manager Comments | The Manager's report comments on the portfolio results and characteristics and covers 4 portfolio stocks. |
| More Information | » View detailed profile of this fund |
